Dropcam HD Internet Wi-Fi Video Monitoring Cameras help you watch what you love from anywhere. In less than a minute, you’ll have it setup and securely streaming video to you over your home Wi-Fi. Use it to watch your home, your baby, the dog, and your small business. Every camera comes with Night vision, 720p HD video, two-way audio, and Digital Pan and Zoom. Paired with secure online DVR recording, you can watch live and recorded video from anywhere on any device. Dropcam HD makes monitorin
$ 149.99
Uses ~60GB of Bandwidth Each Month,
My review is focus on one aspect so as not to be too long, but still useful. **Please note the updates at the end**
The Dropcam is a very good, very easy to use device. Many of the top rated reviews here do an excellent job of listing the pros and cons. Also, the firmware has been updated since many of the negative reviews were posted, so there have been subtle improvements (not enough) with motion detection, and also the iOS and Android apps are now easy and great.
The best use case of this camera, by far, is indoor remote surveillance of a kids room, a family room, or a workplace.
Here’s the real, overpowering negative about the device for me: it uses about 60GB of upload data capacity each month. The camera transmits its HD video feed to the DropCam cloud servers ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. The cloud service is what makes the user experience so easy, and what allows you to view your camera from multiple places, phones, tablets, all with just a userID and password. It’s good in that you don’t have to learn about firewalls, IP port forwarding and such just to make it work. But, that also means that it sends enormous amounts of video of a room with nothing at all happening in it. If your ISP has a quota or a limit to how much you can send per month, this camera WILL DEFINITELY USE A LARGE PORTION. In Canada and with some US ISPs, the limit is 50GB…i.e. less than this camera sends!
– Lots of ISPs offer a quota of 250GB, so this camera won’t put most US customers over their limit. Just know that this will soak up a good portion of your allotment.
– Each additional camera will add to the bandwidth you use.
– Consider that you are also downloading the video feed from your ISP, so if you are in the same place as the camera viewing it, it doubles the bandwidth used. Yep, that’s right, your video goes up to the cloud server, then back down to you.
– FYI, the upload rate is about 400-600 Kbps
– The camera does use excellent compression, so the HD video is as compact as it can be in 2012.
– If you have anything less than awesome Internet service, the camera will slow down your uploads of other stuff, like photos, attachments, etc. Upload speed is always much slower than download on consumer Internet service, and that’s what this camera uses.
So, take this important point into consideration. It may still be a great product for you, but you need to know the costs. For me, I planned on using this at a lake house with slow Internet, so it doesn’t work for me. I’ll have to find another use for it.
****Update, September 2012
The camera has just received a software update that lets you switch between SD mode and HD mode. All DropCams that are turned on and connected to the Internet will get the update automatically. The standard definition mode uses half the bandwidth of the HD mode. Overall, there is a big improvement regarding the problem I cited in my original review. The update has other benefits in motion detection, etc.
As for me, the 30GB a month is still too much, so I will continue to use the available software switch to turn the camera on and off, and only enable it when I want to watch.
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|Pleased with my choice after researching (Easy to setup. Works as advertised.),
I spent some time researching the different options (Logitech, foscam, dropcam, adt, x10, cisco, …) in this product category. I decided to try out a DropCam HD. So far (3 days of use), I’m delighted. The product does everything it promises.
It took me about 5-10 minutes to complete the full setup process (open the box to getting video streams online). In fact, it took me longer to figure out where I was going to put it.
Other solutions require special software to be installed and/or a PC/Mac system to be running to capture the video. I don’t want to keep a computer on while I am away on travel + have to maintain/update the software. The DropCam HD solution removes all this extra effort/time/pain.
pros
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– easy to setup (5 minutes of work)
– can view online or via android/iphone
– can share your camera with friends securely
– motion tags allow you to jump to interesting sections
– no need for special software or a PC running to capture all the data
– surprised by 2way audio feature. Fun to use while you are away.
cons
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– monthly dvr pricing for saved streams (free if you just want live views)
still testing
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– low light/night video capture
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|Great to watch the kiddos!,
I have to say, I am loving this Dropcam! I put it in my living room to see when the kids are home from school. The setup process was done lickety-split, and all I had to type in was my wireless password (which – admittedly – I had to hunt through a dozen post-its to find). Now I can see it on my iphone and also from my computer at work! Cool!
Some details:
1. I tried another camera like this before and it couldn’t see the entire living room from its perch in the corner. On the other hand, the Dropcam can see almost my whole living room while sitting on the same bookshelf in the corner. Faces appear a little small, but I definitely like being able to see the kids whether they are on the couch or laying on the floor
2. The night vision is a really nifty feature. I could just make out my husband on the other side of the room (about 20 feet?). We don’t have a big use for it since our kids are older, but it would make a great baby monitor. I guess if somebody breaks in (eek!) we will have the video for America’s Most Wanted!
3. There’s a little clicking noise here and there on the audio (not sure what that is?) but you can definitely hear what’s being said … I had to wear headphones to really make it out though because my laptop’s speakers aren’t too great
4. The talking feature is already a family favorite – at least for Mom, that is … let’s just say I think a lot more homework is about to be done after school and before dinner time….
5. It’s bee-yoo-tee-ful! I really can’t tell you how many of these electronic doo-dads are ugly as sin. It looks and feels like a little art sculpture sitting next to the other knick-knacks on the bookshelf, and the white cable blends in nicely with the wall.
I think that’s about it! I don’t normally write reviews, but I just felt like this gem deserved it. Thanks Dropcam!!
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